A Worthing man who said he has been barred from The Three Fishes pub wants to know why he is banned from his favourite watering hole.

Kevin Long said he went to the Chapel Road pub on October 19 after returning from a holiday in Benalmádena on the Costa del Sol in Spain and had a pint of his favourite ale, Ruddles County, at around 10.30am with his wife of two years, Sarah.

He went home, and returned at about 2pm for some more liquid refreshment. Then, he said he was approached by a female member of management who told him he had been barred 'for the forseeable future' - and did not give him a reason why.

The Markwick Mews resident said: "I was a bit peeved off really, to be honest. I had been a regular there for years, especially since The Sir Timothy Shelley [now Aqua in Chapel Road] shut down.

"They wouldn't give me an explanation as to why, which I think is totally wrong."

Kevin thought the reason why he could have been barred was because of what he considered to be friendly jokes to staff. He said: "I'd say things like 'try not to drop anything or clap your hands' when they were carrying plates.

"It's my sense of humour, and they seem to have taken it in a derogatory way.

"In my eyes, I was just having a joke. I think it's crazy really, myself."

Since he was barred, Kevin said he has been forced to take his custom to The Warwick and Thieves Kitchen in Warwick Street, Worthing - but he misses his friends who drink at the Wetherspoons pub.

The unemployed man, who is on income support, said his ban was also putting a strain on his purse strings.

He said: "It is more expensive drinking elsewhere. Ruddles was £1.89 in The Three Fishes, and for a pint of IPA in Thieves it is £3.20. And then, in The Warwick it is £2.90 on weekdays, and on the weekends it goes up to £3.60, so it is quite a jump."

He said he had 'considered writing a letter to Wetherspoons' about being barred, and thought he had been treated harshly: "They didn't even give me a warning. No member of staff said to me when I was joking that I couldn't say that.

"It would be nice to know what the reason was."

A spokesman for Wetherspoons said: "The gentleman has been barred permanently for rude and abusive behaviour towards staff."

In response, Kevin said: "I don't think it was rude or abusive, let's put it that way. I have been doing this for quite a number of years, and basically no-one has ever made any comment or said anything about it before."